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inkcharm 's review for:
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
by Yukio Mishima
Once again, this is a book that his incredibly hard to describe. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea centers around three characters - Noburo, a 13 year old boy, his mother Fusako and her lover Ryuji.
Fusako and Noburo live in a Japanese port town. Five years ago they lost the the man of the house, and it is only when the sailor Ryuji enters their lives during shore leave that Fusako feels her desires for a new man awaken. Their budding love affair is (sometimes too closely) watched by Noburu. He is an intelligent boy with very strict views of what's right and wrong - and these views do not necessarily limit themselves to what you'd expect in a 13 year old boy, nor what society would deem acceptable. Noburo is part of a gang of 13 year old children who have come to believe that only they can judge the right and wrong of the world. Slowly Noburo finds Ryuji to fall from grace as an untouchable hero of the sea to a family man, a change that carries him and Fusako towards a happy future. Unknown to them, this change also invokes the harsh judgement of Noburo and his gang...
This book is nothing if not unexpected. Each page draws you into the little world of its story more deeply, wraps around you and won't let you go. The descriptions of the port town are cinematic in their vividness, the metaphors are of a poetic, dark nature and the philosophies presented twisted and fascinating. The end is inevitable. Like drums the pages of the book lead you to a destination, and although your every step grants you a bigger knowledge of what this destination is, once you reach it you will be left breathless and amazed and horrified. Mishima is working towards a climax and leaves you with the helpless, terrible knowledge of what is going to happen inevitably, but he does not make you live through it. Not unlike Murakami's [b:After Dark|17803|After Dark|Haruki Murakami|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266451855s/17803.jpg|3070852], the reader is left with but a glimpse of where this story is progressing. As though riding a rollercoaster, you reach the top, the world is stretched out for you to see and observe, and just as you are carried over the peak you are left with that feeling of dread and anxiety and excitement for what you know will follow. For me this was a fresh spin of the usual climax-and-resolution-end; a gripping experience.
Some minor points might be deducted for the book slowing down in the last quarter before picking up again for its climax, but it is just a small, forgiveable dent in a steady, sickeningly fantastic ride.
Fusako and Noburo live in a Japanese port town. Five years ago they lost the the man of the house, and it is only when the sailor Ryuji enters their lives during shore leave that Fusako feels her desires for a new man awaken. Their budding love affair is (sometimes too closely) watched by Noburu. He is an intelligent boy with very strict views of what's right and wrong - and these views do not necessarily limit themselves to what you'd expect in a 13 year old boy, nor what society would deem acceptable. Noburo is part of a gang of 13 year old children who have come to believe that only they can judge the right and wrong of the world. Slowly Noburo finds Ryuji to fall from grace as an untouchable hero of the sea to a family man, a change that carries him and Fusako towards a happy future. Unknown to them, this change also invokes the harsh judgement of Noburo and his gang...
This book is nothing if not unexpected. Each page draws you into the little world of its story more deeply, wraps around you and won't let you go. The descriptions of the port town are cinematic in their vividness, the metaphors are of a poetic, dark nature and the philosophies presented twisted and fascinating. The end is inevitable. Like drums the pages of the book lead you to a destination, and although your every step grants you a bigger knowledge of what this destination is, once you reach it you will be left breathless and amazed and horrified. Mishima is working towards a climax and leaves you with the helpless, terrible knowledge of what is going to happen inevitably, but he does not make you live through it. Not unlike Murakami's [b:After Dark|17803|After Dark|Haruki Murakami|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266451855s/17803.jpg|3070852], the reader is left with but a glimpse of where this story is progressing. As though riding a rollercoaster, you reach the top, the world is stretched out for you to see and observe, and just as you are carried over the peak you are left with that feeling of dread and anxiety and excitement for what you know will follow. For me this was a fresh spin of the usual climax-and-resolution-end; a gripping experience.
Some minor points might be deducted for the book slowing down in the last quarter before picking up again for its climax, but it is just a small, forgiveable dent in a steady, sickeningly fantastic ride.